The ArcWear™ Electric Arc and Flash Fire Newsletter NOW from e-Hazard.com too.

It is a quick update on Flame Resistant Clothing issues and news from OSHA and standards committees. The newsletter is FREE, reaches over 12,000 people and will bring you up to date on the issues that surround flame resistant clothing for flash fire hazards and the electric arc. For previous newsletters or to sign up, visithttp://www.arcwear.com orhttp://www.e-Hazard.com

We must receive one week before the test date for sample preparation or make arrangements to ship to lab. New and non US/Canadian Customers must make payment before test date. Testing is offered on a first come/first served basis with priority for consulting customers. New policy: $100 per material for prep/washing and cutting panels and $150 for international report shipping. No guarantee is made of when testing will occur.

NFPA 70E ROP Online

NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® now has the ROP (Report on Proposals) online. The ROP is close to the final document for the 2012 version of the standard and is worth a read.

Anyone can respond to the proposals and the committee will listen. If you file a formal comment it is important to have substantiation for your comment. Some proposals which have been accepted could fall by the way side. Every substantiated opinion is considered. Be involved in the process. The doesn’t stop though, so watch the dates for submission and get your comments in!

Zarheer Jooma, the convener of SANS 724Personal protective equipment and protective clothing against the thermal hazards of an electric arc, was recently a guest of ArcWear.com in the US and Canada to understand arc flash and testing.

SANS 724 is the first South African Standard which focuses exclusively on electrical arc flash safety and focuses on specifications for arc flash clothing allowing both IEC and ASTM versions for the South African market. Guidlines are currently following NFPA 70E and this standard is listed as a method of hazard assessment. Zarheer has been involved in NFPA 70E training in South Africa for over three years and wanted to learn more first hand.

Zarheer attended arc testing at Kinectrics (Canada) to learn about arc ratings and hazard assessment. Zarheer was involved in a wide array of tests stipulated in SANS 724 performed by ArcWear at Kinectrics, but also assisted in preparing fabrics to AATCC Method 135 at the ArcWear.com offices in Louisville, Kentucky. During his visit to Kinectrics, Zarheer spent time with Stephen Cress, one of the lead engineers involved in the development of the IEEE 1584 standard. Critical information pertaining to the benefits and limitations of IEEE 1584 were discussed in detail.

The trip was sponsored by ArcelorMittal South Africa, the largest steel producer in the African continent. In sponsoring this trip, ArcelorMittal South Africa reaffirmed their commitment to developing a safe working environment for all South Africans.

Seen at the arc test facility in Kinectrics from left to right: Hugh Hoagland (e-Hazard.com and ArcWear.com), Mikhail Golovkov (ArcWear.com), Zarheer Jooma (SABS) and Claude Maurice (Kinectrics)

Certified Utility Safety Professional (CUSP)Gains Traction

Since the National Safety Council has dissolved the CUSA (Certified Utility Safety Adminstrator), another group has stepped up to offer certification for utility safety professionals. The Utility Safety & Ops Leadership Network (USOLN) has been formed to offer certification and training for utility professionals. Many utility professionals receive the CSP (Certified Safety Professional) designation from ASSE but the CUSA offered utility specific knowledge and profieciency that the more generic CSP did not cover. Welcome CUSP!

Click here to look at the USOLN site and check out the CUSP to see if you could be qualified to take the exam.

OSHA Requirements: Computer-Based Training

Before e-Hazard implemented online NFPA 70E training to support small sites, refreshers and remote sites, we researched OSHA’s stance on online training. I was exceptionally skeptical of online training because of some of the training I have seen has very poor quality especially training for NFPA 70E.

We developed our online training around the following OSHA requirements gathered from the sources below:

4. OSHA accepts online training “provided that the program is supplemented by the opportunity for trainees to ask questions of a qualified trainer”. This is why ALL e-Hazard training includes a mandatory LIVE training session (Module 8 in our LV NFPA 70E class) where each worker receiving a certificate receives feedback on exercises (quizzes) and can receive answers to questions from a member of the NFPA 70E committee or another highly qualified trainer (NONE OF OUR COMPETITORS OFFER THIS)

The NFPA 70E ROP report is above but it should be noted that the committee did pass a requirement to retrain all employees on electrical hazards at least every three years. OSHA requires annual training on some aspects of electrical safety and OSHA and NFPA 70E require skills retraining on HV, skills not used at least annually and any new equipment, practices, PPE etc used in the workplace.

e-Hazard offers a refresher for both LV and HV for workers and the HV class includes a “hands-on” exercise for grounding and testing a HV circuit in a safe environment. We also offer more “hands on” experiences in our Grounding and Bonding and Meter Safety Classes.Click here to see e-Hazard Training Classes Offered On-Site.

Fines by OSHA on Electrical Hazards this Month

Most citations this month include electrical hazards.

Click here to see the citations and our commentary.

New Electrical Safety Articles & Video

We scour the web for the BEST articles.

Here are some articles published recently on arc flash and electrical safety.

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